How Switching to VoIP can Help Your Small Business
The UK plans to deactivate all analog phone line functionality by the end of 2025. While this effectively means the end of landline phones across the country, it has particular implications for businesses.
Many businesses worldwide have relied on landlines for years, despite the costs and inconveniences. They had a method for making calls, and any changes seemed risky.
The search for alternatives begins when it becomes clear that a revolution in telephony systems is unavoidable. VoIP is one of the best phone systems for businesses of all sizes for a variety of reasons.
What is a small business VoIP system?
In a nutshell, a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system allows you to make phone calls over the internet. The entire system can be set up in minutes because it uses an existing connection rather than a complicated set of cables and devices. Furthermore, it can be set up for a fraction of the cost of traditional phone lines.
Switching to a low-cost but powerful VoIP service may be just what small businesses need if they are constantly working on a tight budget. They can increase their productivity while lowering their phone bills.
Call costs are also significantly lower. According to a Tech.co survey, small businesses that switch to VoIP can save up to 40% on local calls and up to 90% on international calls.
Small business owners can take advantage of many advanced features with VoIP. For example:
- IVR menus
- Call queues
- Ring groups
- Personalized messages on hold
- Video conferencing
- Analytics and a variety of other features
These features are accessible as soon as you install a VoIP app. But before we get into the benefits, let’s look at what distinguishes VoIP calls from analog ones.
How do VoIP systems function?
Analog phones use electrical pulses to transmit sounds over a copper wire network. On the other hand, VoIP platforms use an internet connection to make and receive calls.
A VoIP platform converts your voice into digital signals and compresses it into data packets whenever you make a call. These packets are then transmitted via the internet to the recipient’s device. When the packages arrive at their destination, they are unpacked and converted back into sound so the recipient can understand the message.
Many small businesses are concerned about sound quality. Thankfully, the days of static-heavy, difficult-to-understand sentences when communicating over the internet are long gone. The time it takes a data packet to travel from one location to another, measured in milliseconds, has little difference between VoIP and regular calls.
What are some of the benefits of VoIP systems?
Did you know that approximately 74% of small business employees use mobile VoIP apps to make business calls? Internet calling rates are much lower than those of a landline or mobile phone, making regular international or local calls no longer a burden, even for small businesses on a shoestring budget.
Furthermore, VoIP has grown in popularity as high-speed internet connections have become more prevalent. The internet’s dependability has dramatically improved in recent years. VoIP now has enough capacity to handle online calls without interruption. Businesses have turned to VoIP, from large corporations to small businesses and start-ups. Either to save money on phone bills or to work comfortably from home.
Now, let’s look at some specific examples of VoIP benefits.
1. Outstanding call quality
VoIP platforms use a combination of wideband codecs to provide more natural-sounding calls while reducing background noise.
Listening to the person on the other end of the line, you may believe your client is in the next building rather than on another continent. All of this is possible thanks to HD audio features.
2. Lower phone costs
Implementing a VoIP solution can reduce the costs of launching a new small business by up to 90%. There are several reasons for this.
The first area where businesses could save a significant amount of money is installation costs. There’s no need to buy multiple pieces of hardware and hire a technician to set it up. All that is required for VoIP technology to function is a reliable internet connection in the building, a headset, and a VoIP-capable router.
VoIP is relatively inexpensive, and the savings are especially noticeable when switching from a traditional PBX system. Expensive add-ons, expensive compatible devices, and exorbitant international call bills do not apply when using VoIP.
You can make calls from virtually anywhere in the world using any device you want.
3. Increase productivity by using caller insight analytics
Analytic and performance tools were typically only available in enterprise-level PBX plans and were costly. As a result, those features are effectively out of reach for smaller businesses or start-ups.
Meanwhile, VoIP platforms provide you with immediate access to a plethora of analytical tools. Detailed call statistics, agent performance, and customizable real-time dashboards are a few analytical tools available in a VoIP platform.
Using this information, you can determine your company’s “peak hours” and assign more people to work during those times. You can use it to keep track of your employees and reward the top performers. The possibilities are nearly limitless.
4. Make an excellent first impression
Some VoIP features, such as a real-time customer card, allow your agents to see the client’s data and previous call history before they even answer the call. Identifying the caller makes it far easier for representatives to provide excellent customer service.
What about having your own auto-attendant available 24 hours a day, seven days a week? ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) software can route calls to the most qualified agents, and your customers’ simple questions can be answered by advanced IVR (Interactive Voice Response).
VoIP systems are revolutionizing small-business communication.
With the advantages of VoIP, it is not surprising that this method of communication is sweeping the business world.
Because of its price/value balance, it is especially popular in the small business world. It’s as if VoIP platforms were designed to level the playing field between small businesses and large corporations. Features previously only available to enterprise customers with premium PBX systems are now available to small businesses and start-ups.
Choose the best VoIP system for your small business
With analog lines eventually phasing out, now might be a good time to prepare your small business for a VoIP migration. It may seem like a big step, but the advantages of making calls over the internet speak for themselves.
Do you find it challenging to choose the best system for your needs, given the abundance of platforms and features available? Try TheVoIPGuru right now!
We work with clients like you to deliver exceptional results and eliminate the burden of researching and managing vendor relationships. On average, we’re able to help our customers save 30% on their phone, internet, credit card processing, and other bills after a quick 30-minute call!
We will conduct a robust needs analysis of your environment and engage our partner ecosystem to identify the vendors who can satisfy your needs. We guide our clients through the process of selecting the best communications system & phone services for their business & organization.
Call us today and supercharge your business with TheVoIPGuru!
I like how you discussed that having VoIP systems can help your business even if it is a start-up or a big company. As you said, they can increase productivity by having immediate access to analytical tools such as call statistics. This can give an insight into what is the “peak hours” and assign people. I belive this will be advantageous for any business to keep track of the employees and reward their efforts. Thanks for sharing!